Autobiography: Stories by a Sioux Teacher Evelyn Alexandria Good Striker Master of Education

74 Pages·2010·2.7 MB·English

Autobiography: Stories by a Sioux Teacher
Evelyn Alexandria Good Striker
B.Ed., University of Lethbridge, 1986
A One-Credit Project
Submitted to the Faculty of Education
of The University of Lethbridge
in Partial Fulfillment of the
Requirements for the Degree
Master of Education
LETHBRIDGE, ALBERTA
December, 1998
I
ABSTRACT
Human science research is a fOTTn of writing. Creating a phemonenological text is the
object of the research proces-s-(Van Manen, 1990). In the case of this-project my writing.
and research serves as pedagogy. Anecdotal narrative as story form is an effective way of
dealing with certain kinds of knowledge. Anecdotes can -teach us. The use of story or of
anecdotal material in phenomenological writing is not merely a literary embellishmenL The
stories themselves are -examples -of practical theorizing. Anecdotal narratives {stories) are
important for pedagogy in that they function as experiential case material on which
pedagogic reflection is possible; H. Rosen (1986), points out the significance-and power
of anecdotal llarrative:
(1) to compel: a s-tory recruits-our willing. attention;
(2) to lead us to reflect: a story tends to invite us to a reflective search for
significance;
(3) to involve us personally: one tends to search actively for the storyteller's
. . ,
meanmg VIa one sown;
(4) to transform: we may be touched, shaken, moved by story; it teaches us;
(5}tomeasureone!s interpretive sense: one's responsetoa story is a measure of
one's deepened ability to make interpreti ve sense (Rosen, 1986).
Famous- works- shared by the likes- of Van Manen and Rosen (and many others}
have encouraged me to communicate my stories; to validate my life; to heal.
I tell my stories through my Sioux mind and heart. I provide a mere snap-shot of
what its like inside my world. My personal experiences reveal, who I am, where I came
from. My past helps provide a map for my future journey. This work reflects yearnings,
desires, dilemmas and questions to uncover possibilities for a better understanding for
educators and for any one who imparts knowledge.
My work is grounded in the cultura:l and spiritual knowledge of Sioux and
Blackfoottraditions. My-eyes-see differently. I-am engaged in different conversation with
thin.gs. Some anecdotes describe spiritual conversations with my Maker in the form of
prayers, songs and ceremony. Others are harsh realities informing the reader about racism,
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seXIsm, oppression and deprivation. You will read about endurance, survival and
inextinguishable identity.
This- writing has- been my journey to freedom. Through my investigation and
reflection I called forth a more confident inner voice of my own. I emer~ed with self
confidence and power to control my own life. The narratives! share are dedicated to the
Marlenes and Audreys not to be forgotten during busy days in classrooms everywhere.
III
ACKNOWLEDGEMENTS
I would like to thank my professors at the University of Lethbridge in the Master of
Education Program, my students, my loving friends and family who have helped me.
Without everyone's encouragement and sURport I would not have been able to come this
far.
IV
TABLE OF CONTENTS
ABSTRACT
111
ACKNOWLEDGMENTS v
REFERENCES 68
CHAPTER ONE: MY BACKGROUND 1
1. I Am Sioux 1
2. My Parents 1
3. My Maternal Grandparents 3
4. MyPatemal Grandparents 5
5, Childhood Experiences 7
6. My Education 10
CHAPTER TWO: SACRED RELATIONS 17
7. Dakota Oyate Oyea 17
8. Sitting Bull's Monument 20
9. A Disagreement 21
10. Singer of Sacred Songs 23
11. Cranberries for Dinner 27
12. Perseverance 28
13. Around the Kitchen Table 30
14. Name Giving - the Power 30
15. The Trail of Coyote Woman 34
16. I Lost My Power 35
17. Spiritual Healing 38
18. The Sweat Lodge 38
19. What is Knowing? 39
v
CHAPTER THREE; PEDAGOGICAL PRACTICE 41
20. My Professional Semester Experience 41
21. Teaching Days 42
22. Teaching Practice 43
23. In Response to Elizabeth Ellsworth 48
24. A Plea for Help 50
25. A Lesson About Life 52
26. What I Like About School 53
27. Metaphors in the Blackfoot L1nguage 54
28. Unlocking My Silence 60
CHAPTER ONE: MY BACKGROUND
I Am Sioux
I am a Sioux woman; a LakotalDakota. The two tribes to which I belong are
Minicouju (Plant by Water -Lakota) and Wahpetonwan (Camp Among the Leaves
Dwellers - Dakota). The name of the reserve where I grew up is Standing Buffalo and the
reserve where my mother and grandfather lived was Wood Mountain.
The Lakota from Wood Mountain came to Canada after the Battle of the Little Big
Horn in 1886. The Dakota from Standing Buffalo came to Canada during the Minnesota
Wars of 1862. At that time in history there was a lot of conflict, mainly because of the
encroachment of white settlers on Indian lands. The Sioux defended their traditional
territory (lands stretching from what is now the state of Minnesota to the Dakotas and south
eastern Montana) against farmers, ranchers and gold-seekers. As a result of the fighting,
both of my tribal ancestors fled from the United States and sought protection across the
Canadian border. As a result, our tribes have always been treated somewhat as foreigners
or refugees. In the early 1920s, when the two tribes refused to return to the United States,
they were given Canadian citizenship under the telm, "Status Indians." Earlier in the
nineteenth century when the Federal Government made treaties with other Canadian plains
tribes, our tribes were not included. Our "status" gives us rights that are almost equal to
Canadian treaty tribes. One of the benefits we are excluded from is the annual five dollar
payment which every treaty Indian receives in July.
My Parents
My father, Alexander Goodwill, was born on September 14, 1914. He was the
fifth oldest of a family of nine. He had six brothers and two sisters. My father told us of
his childhood experiences, working with his father and brothers on their farm, while
hunting, fishing, gardening and raising chickens to supplement their family's income. As
a child, he attended Qu'Appelle Indian School, a federal school operated by Roman
Catholic priests and nuns. There he obtained about a grade six level of education. Along
with schooling, he had to learn farming, animal husbandry, and carpentry. It was the
curriculum of those schools at that time.
2
My father's memories of boarding school were mostly negative. He told us stories
of how he was subjected to cruelty; he was treated like a prisoner; they all were. Whenever
they ran away they would be sought out and returned. Upon returning the principal would
pubicly strap them as an example to the rest of the students.
He also told us stories of life and freedom after he left school. He seemed to enjoy
baseball the most. He and his brothers had a team which was quite famous in that region.
They played for a number of years in every small town in Saskatchewan. He was a left
handed pitcher, a strike-out king.
My mother, Stella, was the second daughter of John Okute Sica. She was raised
by her paternal grandmother Emma. My mother never received formal schooling. She was
sent to Qu'Appelle Indian School when she was eleven years old. She recalls being sick
for months, for some unkown reason, and spent all of that time in the infirmary. Her
father went to pick her up and they returned to Wood Mountain. As a result my mother
never did learn how to read and write.
My mother spent her adolescent years under the guidance of her grandmother and
her father, and learned the traditional way to live off the land. They lived out on the open
prairies for most of the warm season, camping, hunting, and trapping. They traveled with
horses and a buggy carrying all they owned. They had saddle horses and hounds which
they used for hunting. In the winter time, they settled on the outskirts of the town of
Moose Jaw. This was where the Lakota who were left in Canada came to winter. By this
time their numbers had dwindled drastically due to starvation and disease. During those
hard times, some survived by eating the cast-off PaI1S of animals that were slaughtered in
the town's abattoir.
My grandfather became the first Lakota to own land in that area. He filed for a
homestead where he settled with his family in 1946. Later, his land and surrounding area
became the Wood Mountain Reserve.
My mother learned many skills working on her father's ranch, by assisting him
with chores and helping her grandmother perform domestic tasks. She became an excellent
horsewoman, entering challenge races. She would ride for miles by herself looking for
cattle, hunting, or picking up mail and supplies in town. She developed her talents at
3
creating traditional designs in her crafts and clothing with beads and quill work. She
tanned hides and made moccasins and jackets. She gathered herbal medicines and learned
of their specific uses. She uses her herbal knowledge to help sick people to this day.
This is how my mother and father met - her family made frequent trips to Standing
Buffalo to visit her relatives. During one of those trips she became acquainted with my
father. Although, a family named "Yuzicapi," actually arranged for her to marry one of
their sons (arranged maniages were still practiced at that time), she was allowed to break
tradition and she did. Her father supported her wish. Years later, my father began visiting
her at Wood Mountain. It was then that they decided to get married. They had a Catholic
wedding ceremony in my grandfather's house on April 4, 1939. They then moved to
Standing Buffalo to live.
At Standing Buffalo Reserve, my parents owned a farm which was passed down to
my father by his father. My grandfather, uncles and father worked very hard cutting and
clearing the land to prepare for farming. It was the days of horse drawn implements. This
farm was where all thirteen children (of which I am the fifth oldest) grew up. I have eight
sisters and three brothers, (one brother is deceased). Eleven of the thirteen are married.
Our immediate family consists of eighty members. My mother passed away on February
6, 1998 at the age of 79 years. My father passed away on April 6, 1972.
My Maternal Grandparents
The Lakota in Canada would not return to the United Sates for fear of their lives.
The American Lakota had convinced them that they would be killed if they crossed the
border. By this time Sitting Bull was dead, and the Massacre at Wounded Knee had
occuned. The remaining Lakota, less than three hundred in all, continued to roam
southwestern Saskatchewan and parts of southern Alberta, avoiding the United States
government officials. The Canadian government allowed the Sioux to stay once they
agreed that they would remain peaceful. Under the watchful eye of the Northwest Mounted
Police the activities of the Lakota were closely monitored. Among the remaining members
were my great-grandparents, Tashunka Nupa Wi (Her Two Horses) and Waucapsne (Hard
To Shoot At).
4
My maternal grandfather, Okute sica, (John was his English name) had married
three times. His first marriage was to a Cree woman named Emma Cote, whom he met at
the Regina Industrial School. After their wedding, they went to live at Wood Mountain.
They had a daughter, Adeline, who was eighty-two years of age at her passing just before
Christmas of 1992. A short time after Adeline was born, her mother died of tuberculosis, a
disease to which many aboriginal people had succumbed at that time. My grandfather
sought his parents' help in raising his young daughter. He was widowed for nine years.
Years later, he visited Standing Buffalo reserve where he met Helen Tawayaika
(Carry Their Own Feather). They married and my mother was born on June 3, 1918.
When my mother was only three months old, her mother died of the Swine Flu, an
epidemic that killed many native people at that time. Once again, my grandfather relied on
his parents to help him raise his second daughter.
As my mother and her sister, Adeline, grew up they helped provide for themselves
and their grandparents by performing domestic labor on nearby ranches. But their labor
was not always confined to the house; they sometimes had to break horses, tend to cattle
and hunt to provide food for the families with whom they lived.
Ten years later my grandfather, John, married for the third time. He married
Christine Laswisse (He Sings for the People). She was also from the Standing Buffalo
Reserve. They had four children: two sons and two daughters. My grandfather passed
away in 1961 at the age of 76. My step-grandmother Christine, who is now 92 years of
age, still lives in Wood Mountain with her youngest son Gus who cares for her. The other
family members, my aunts and uncles, have families and live in various parts of Canada
and the United States.
My recollections of my grandfather, John, are wonderful. He was a tall man,
around six foot three inches, and a handsome gentleman who was also very kind. He
displayed a wealth of knowledge, mostly self-taught. He was particularly skilled in
writing. He documented Lakota history, wrote poetry, legends, letters to family and
friends, all of which explained our culture and his beliefs and values as a Lakota.
Whenever he came to visit us or we went to visit him, (we lived three hundred
miles apart), he would be very happy to see us. I remember he would tickle us with his